Essay on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Now back in the mid-1960s OCD had yet to be categorized as a mental disorder normally the embarrassment when someone does these abnormal actions tends to

This essay will introduce some similarities and differences between both symptoms and experiences of six different authors who have been personally affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).  Since OCD is not very well understood by many members of the public ("Escape"), I hope that the experiences of the authors that I researched will be able to paint a vivid picture of what life with OCD is like.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2004) signs of ADHD become noticeable in children during their preschool and early years of school. It is estimated that 3 to 5 percent of children have ADHD, which is roughly about 2 million children in the United States. This means that 1 child out of a classroom that has 25-30 students in it will have ADHD. The NIMH (2004) has stated this in their article on ADHD that Dr. Heinrich Hoffman first described it in 1845. He was a physician who wrote books on medicine and psychiatry, he also wrote books for children. He described the disease in a book he was writing to his son, he wrote "The Story of Fidgety Phillip" which described a little boy with the exact symptoms of what would be known today as ADHD. It was not until 1902 that Sir George F. Still published a lecture to the Royal College of Physicians in London about impulsive children with behavioral problems that he stated were caused by a genetic dysfunction and not by poor education. Since then many studies have been done on the cause, symptoms, and treatment of ADHD.

As time has progressed, light has been shed on the causes and symptoms of mental disorders. Like many mental disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder was once linked to dissociation with religious beliefs. In the seventeenth century OCD was seen as a symptom of being isolated from religion and religious practices. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that obsessive-compulsive disorder began to be recognized as a mental disorder unrelated to religion. The route to this recognition began as stated by Koran (2007) by distinguishing obsessions from delusions and compulsions from impulsions. The source of the disorder, however, was still a matter to be argued on. The idea that OCD was a result of any level of insanity was disregarded after the mid-eighteen hundreds. For the most part, French psychiatrists believed it was a result of an emotional distress and “volitional” defects but not before placing it in a very broad spectrum of many other phobias we see today. German Psychiatrists, on the other hand, associated OCD with an issue on the intellectual level and as Magnan (1835-1916) put it, OCD was the “psychosis of degeneration.”

Obsessive-compulsive disorders can begin in childhood or adolescence and can affect a person at any age. The older a person gets the more likely it may be for them to develop OCD symptoms. The average age of onset for this illness is age seven. Symptoms may be active within a child but they may be too embarrassed or confused about their fear and keep to themselves. Kids who suffer from this illness are unable to hide the rituals and constantly think about their obsessions. It may not be easy for the doctor or parents to be able to tell if their child has OCD unless the child has informed them or they notice ritual like behavior.

OCD has existed for many centuries, it goes far back to the 14th and 16th century, though the disorder had not yet been discovered. Back then, when one had the symptoms of OCD such as obsessions, compulsions, and irrelevant thoughts, it was believed that person was being possessed by outside forces such as the devil or demons. This resulted in exorcising the sufferer of said symptoms which was considered the best and most popular treatment method at the time. During the first half of the 19th century, OCD changed due to alterations medical thinking. At first, OCD symptoms were thought of a type of dementia or madness. This led to further investigations.

I have always been fascinated with behavioral disorders, especially OCD. I learned about OCD a few years ago when I was reading a medical journal. At first, it seemed like something very odd. The idea that otherwise normal people can do such strange things, and not be able to control themselves was fascinating. I wanted to know more about this topic, which is why I chose to write my paper on it. I thought that by knowing more about the subject, I will be able to better understand how these people’s lives can be literally taken over by their constant worries and anxiety. Also, I think a lot of people exhibit these behaviors and aren’t even aware that they may have a severe problem, and more importantly, that they can be getting help to

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder that causes someone to have unwanted and troubling thoughts and repetitive behaviors (Lack, 2012). People may self-diagnose themselves to be obsessive compulsive. But people with obsessive compulsive disorder need to spend at least 1 hour daily on obsessive thoughts and rituals (Ellyson, 2014). This disorder is broken into two parts. The first part is obsessions, thoughts or images, and the second part is compulsions, the repetitive behaviors caused by the obsessions (Brakoulias, 2015). An example of obsessive compulsive disorder would be someone checking the locked door multiple times to reduce anxiety about forgetting to lock the door. On average 5% of the population has subclinical symptoms which are considered to be symptoms that are not disruptive enough to meet criteria to be diagnosed obsessive compulsive (Lack, 2012). Dropping what you’re doing to go back and check if your curling iron is unplugged is an example of a subclinical symptom. This paper will discuss what obsessive compulsive disorder is and provide a brief history. It will also include current treatments, suggestions on how to treat the disorder, and a summary.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental illness which is recognised by thousands of healthcare professionals and experts around the world, it is estimated that approximately 741,504 people are living with OCD at any one time3. Although this may not seem like a large number, this disorder is one that can have a significant negative impact on someone’s everyday life and can result in them rarely leaving the house and/ or compromising many aspects of their lifestyle. It can present itself in many different forms, which can make it especially difficult to spot, diagnose and begin to treat. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s guidelines on obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) recommend cognitive–behavioural

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, involves anxious thoughts or rituals one feels and can't control. . For many years, OCD was thought to be rare. The actual number of people with OCD was hidden, because people would hide their problem to avoid embarrassment. Some recent studies show that as many as 3 million Americans ages 18 to 54 may have OCD at any one time. This is about 2.3% of the people in this age group. It strikes men and women in approximately equal numbers and usually first appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. One-third of adults with OCD report having experienced their first symptoms as children. The course of the disease is variable. Symptoms may come

Many cognitive theorists believe that individuals with OCD have faulty or dysfunctional beliefs, and that it is their misinterpretation of intrusive thoughts that leads to the creation of obsessions and compulsions. Salkovskis (1996, see A2 Level Psychology page 532) explains the compulsions are based on cognitive errors. He draws from the behavioral approach, in saying that compulsions are rewarded or reinforced by immediate reduction of distress or anxiety. The carrying out of the compulsive rituals mean that OCD patients never get to test out their faulty thinking and realise there is not a dire consequence if they make a mistake. This resembles the behavioural explanation but more emphasis is given to the cognitive processes involved.

Firstly persistent obsessive thoughts affecting cognitive inhibition for example ‘If I flick this switch X amount of times , my house will burn down’ and secondly repetitive compulsive behaviour, affecting motor inhibition for example flicking the light switch X amount of times. OCD is thought to affect around 1 in 100 people although is is suspected that many do not report it. The compulsive behaviors are often stemmed from an attempt to stop the obsessive thoughts that a sufferer of OCD would have, it is aimed that by satisfying these thoughts will make them go away (Bannon, Gonsalvez, Croft & Boyce, 2002). In 2009 a study conducted by Page et al was conducted to test if sufferers of OCD exhibited deficits in cognitive and behavioral inhibitions compared to a control groups made up of sufferers of panic disorder. All participants had a clinical diagnosis of either disorder. It consisted of two tests, a Go/No go test (Fox, Michie, Wynne & Maybery, 2000) and consisted of four blocks plus a practice. Each block consisted of 100 stimuli, and participants were instructed to prace the spacebar when the go stimuli was presented two trials were with the right hand and two with the left. Go stimuli consisted of the letters ‘N’, ‘J’ and ‘W’ presented in blue or the letter ‘O’ in red, green or yellow. NoGo stimuli consisted of the letter ‘O’ in blue or the letter ‘E’ in Pink. The

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD, is a disorder that affects about two to three percent of the population (UOCD). Knowing what OCD is and who it affects is just step one in understanding the psychology of this disorder. The psychological symptoms of OCD can be quite varied which can make it difficult to diagnose. Understanding the therapy techniques and how people with OCD live their daily lives is one of the most vital part in the psychology of OCD. While the roots of the disorder may be complex, understanding the disorder in everyday life is quite simple.

In a general view, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is associated with obsessions and compulsions. The obsessions are recurrent thoughts, fears, images, ideas, urges, and doubts. Patients suffering from this disorder often go through fluctuating episodes of compulsion which are in response to an obsessive thought, such as arranging, touching, repeatedly checking on something, and recurrent hand-washing. The patient experiences repeated rise in anxiety from the obsessions, that compels them to indulge in their compulsions as a form of relief (Brown University, 2013). Most of the patients suffering

Foa, E. B., Huppert, J. D., Leiberg, S., Langer, R., Kichic, R., Hajcak, G., Salkovskis, P. M. (2002). The obsessive–compulsive inventory: development and validation of a short version. Psychol Assess, 14, 485–496.